Despite a 4-0 defeat in the FA Cup final to close the season, Aston Villa fans walked away from the forgettable 2014/15 season with a little optimism.

The win over a Liverpool in disarray at Wembley created a really positive feeling around the club. That relegation was merely offered a tidy wink rather than any serious flirtation helped matters.

It’s sometimes easy to forget that Villa finished 17th last season. Since then, Fabian Delph, Christian Benteke and Ron Vlaar have all left the club. That’s the captain and the top scorer.

Villa were notoriously goal shy last season under Paul Lambert but only 12 Premier League goals remain in the squad from last season.

Sometimes things become clichéd with good reason and it’s true that you need your signings in place early to build momentum ahead of the season. We can safely assume that this is, in fact, not the final Villa squad.

Is this departed XI better than the current Villa starting line-up?

But even if the signings made are superb, will they have time to bed in?

A strong start is important to either avoid relegation or get away from the battle entirely (depending on what Villa’s goals are for this coming season).

In Villa’s first six league matches they face Bournemouth, Crystal Palace, West Bromwich Albion, Sunderland and Leicester - a run of games that can dictate a season.

A strong performance can leave Aston Villa in position to challenge in the top half. Perform below par and they’ll be in the struggling pack with only higher quality teams to play.

Even if some of the signings made - and given Villa’s recent overseas signing record this seems unlikely - are of the highest quality then there is still a huge question of Benteke’s goals to replace.

Emmanuel Adebayor (Image: Action Images / Paul Childs)

Emmanuel Adebayor may go through his usual early purple patch if he is brought in, but history will show he can scarcely be relied upon consistently. Even if his signing goes through, you could argue that this remains a weakened squad.

But at the moment the bottom line is this: For all the positivity around Villa Park last season, Sherwood took 16 points from 13 league games. If Villa regress too far from that point then relegation is going to be a genuine concern.

With Delph and Benteke now moved on to what they consider to be pastures greener, there’s a long way to go before Villa can even looking like standing still, never mind moving forward. That could make for a long and nervous season at Villa Park.